Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) has been forced to close down four of their campus branches due to financial difficulties. this is after the university board members held a meeting in December 2020 and 12,2021 of January.
The campuses shut include that of Kisumu, Kapsabet, Mumias and Nairobi leaving only three in operation which includes the main campus in Kakamega together with Bungoma and Webuye campuses.
The university has though said that it will embark on the process of reallocating its staff and lecturers in a bid of ensuring that quality education is delivered in the remaining operating branch campuses. Also, students from the closed campuses are expected to report to the main campus in Kakamega where according to their faculties they will be placed in the branches.
This move may have come after meetings held by Education Cabinet Secretary Goerge Magoha with university heads where he cited low funds claiming low funding from the national government.
Early last year Magoha had warned universities against setting up other institution branches citing that those campuses with low student admission led to higher budgets. He told institutions that they should focus on quality education delivery rather than chasing student enrollment numbers.
Many universities in 2020 came under pressure to shut down some of their campuses with universities such as Moi announcing its intentions to shut down their Odera Akango and Kitale campuses due to lack of students.
The Commission for University Education (CUE) that was tasked by the education CS Magoha with overseeing university merges had also advised Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology JKUAT to shut down its Kakamega and Eldoret branches over education quality concerns.
Masinde Muliro university was already among universities under scrutiny from cue on the establishment of satellite campuses.
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